The present invention relates to battery chargers and particularly relates to such a battery charger which has an appliance plug socket for connecting an electric appliance to a power supply while it is used in charging a rechargeable battery.
Regular portable electric or electronic appliances are general equipped with rechargeable batteries. When a rechargeable battery is at a low voltage level, it must be charged so that an electric or electronic appliance can be kept working properly. A battery charger is normally used to recharge the battery. There are several types of battery chargers used to charge rechargeable batteries. It generally takes 16-24 hours to fully charge a rechargeable battery when using a standard type battery charger. If a quick charging type battery charger is used, a rechargeable battery can be fully charged within 4-6 hours. When a rapid charging type battery charger is used, a rechargeable battery can be fully charged within 1-3 hours. When a battery charger is to be connected with the cigarette lighter socket on the instrument board of a vehicle to charge a rechargeable battery, any automotive electric appliance must be disconnected from the cigarette lighter socket. Because it takes a long time to charge the battery, the cigarette lighter socket will not be available for connection with any other electric or electronic appliance.